April 17, 2020

Celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day with The Sciku Project

Posted by Laura Guertin

I’ve blogged about Science haiku to communicate research and more (2014) and The Science Haiku Challenge from The Flame Challenge (2017), but as today is International Haiku Poetry Day, it doesn’t hurt to come back around and remind everyone that science haiku exist and can be fun to create and share!

Held on April 17th each year, International Haiku Poetry Day celebrates this short form of Japanese poetry that is typically strucutred with 17 syllables in three lines of 5-7-5. The haiku does not rhyme, and the poem is typically about nature and includes one “season” term. A Google search will reveal many variations on this template – and variations on the topic, such as science!

So for this year’s International Haiku Poetry Day, why not write your own science-themed haiku, or what Twitter calls #sciku? The Sciku Project (https://thescikuproject.com/) is an excellent place to start to learn more and explore examples of how scientists have summarized their work in just 17 syllables.

 

 

The Sciku Project has pulled together some Writing Tips to help you get started, and a list for Further Reading. Explore their examples, and consider submitting your own. Challenge yourself to celebrate and communicate your work with others!